UN sustainable goals vs. GDP growth (Part II)

Introduction

This past week, one of the principal economic news centered on the budget hearings in the Senate. The economic managers again emphasized that the economy was doing well and one sign of this was that the Philippine Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was one of the highest in Asia.

One major headline also in the past week was that the net worth of the ten richest families in the Philippines increased by 11 percent to $80 billion from $72 billion last year.

There were also smaller headlines that the retail price of rice, the staple food for the disadvantaged, might surpass the 1998 prices which were considered at a crisis level. There has not been much progress in reducing poverty levels and even hunger levels. While prices continue to go up, the struggle to increase minimum wage has still not been resolved.

The Importance of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

In my last column on Thursday, I maintained that the state of the economy should not be measured by GDP growth but in terms of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. I wrote about the first eight goals from the perspective of a Philippine framework. Here are my reflections on the remaining nine goals.

Goal #9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

• There is an accepted consensus that one of the major obstacles to investment in this country is the lack of adequate infrastructure.
• The major infrastructure being built are subject to questions about their benefit and sustainability.
• The 22 projects for the reclamation of Manila Bay have been questioned by environmentalists and interested parties.
• Major Philippine conglomerates invest primarily in real estate, food retail, and service industries rather than sustainable industrialization.

Goal #10: Reduce inequality within countries

• The gap between the rich and the poor became very obvious when the net worth of the ten richest families in the Philippines was reported at $80 billion.
• The income inequality in the country is evident even in a quick trip around Metro Manila.

Goal #11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

• The lack of parks and other green spaces in urban areas is a stark reality.
• The hectarage devoted to golf courses is even bigger than the ones devoted to public spaces lush with trees.
• The lack of housing for the poor and lower middle class is a serious problem.
• Many areas do not have a safe environment.

Goal #12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

• Our immediate goal is to ensure that no family will go hungry, so this goal is not a priority.

Goal #13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

• There is a lot of discussion on climate change but little action is being undertaken to address this crisis.
• Deforestation continues without any major reforestation program.
• Coal is still a major source of power and the rivers continue to be full of silt and waste.

Goal #14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

• Efforts to protect coral reefs and marine life are being made, but projects like the reclamation of Manila Bay threaten marine biodiversity.
• Chinese fishermen exploit our marine resources around the reefs of the West Philippine Sea.

Goal #15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably managed forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

• No significant government programs are addressing this goal.

Goal #16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective and accountable institutions at all levels

• Corruption is still rampant in this country.
• The legal institutions favor the rich and work against the poor who have no money.

Goal #17: Strengthen the means for implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

• Before any talk of implementation, we must first formulate the nation’s goal in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Conclusion

The 17 SDGs are the true objectives of a society that desires to achieve a life of human dignity for all its citizens.

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